SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!

JJJ hopes you had your tissues ready for the heartbreaking farewell to Cory Monteith during tonight’s episode of Glee. It was quite a doozy.

As creator Ryan Murphy mentioned, Finn’s death wasn’t exactly explained, but it really didn’t matter. The episode was about celebrating the character’s life. And boy did it.

It was tough to watch knowing that the tears and emotion by the actors were real, and we commend the cast for their stellar performances during such a difficult time. Our thoughts go out to everyone who knew and loved Cory. He will forever be remembered.

Click inside to read a full recap of tonight’s episode…

New Directions start off the episode with Rent‘s “Seasons of Love,” with cameos by all our old faves, including Puck (Mark Salling), Kurt (Chris Colfer), Mike (Harry Shum Jr.), Santana (Naya Rivera), and Mercedes (Amber Riley). While the funeral was said to be a few weeks before, Will (Matthew Morrison) invites everyone back to memorialize Finn in song. Mercedes jumps at the opportunity and slays her own version of “Stand By You,” which Finn sang in season one.

Puck seems to be the most angry in the wake of his best friend’s death, even stealing a memorial tree and bullying Kurt to give him Finn’s letterman jacket (which he doesn’t). He later gets drunk, screams, and ends up crying in Beast’s (Dot Marie Jones) arms right before he sings “No Surrender” and he’s accused of stealing the missing jacket. He and Beast re-plant the tree and toast to Finn’s life.

Back at home, Kurt helps Burt (Mike O’Malley) and Finn’s mom (Romy Rosemont) pack up his room, which is a beautifully sad moment. The broken trio remember the good and bad times, as they cry in each other’s arms.

Meanwhile, Sam (Chord Overstreet) and Artie (Kevin McHale) lead the glee club in “Fire and Rain” in the auditorium. Santana storms out at the end to give Sue (Jane Lynch) a piece of her mind after she spends the entire episode trying to derail everyone’s grief. But it turns out Sue just feels horrible about being mean to Finn and never telling him how much she actually liked him. Santana sings “If I Die Young” for her fallen buddy.

Rachel (Lea Michele) shows up toward the end of the episode and cries through a painfully perfect rendition of “Make You Feel My Love,” which she and Finn used to sing in the car together. She then talks to Will about the future she planned with Finn and they hang a photo of him in the choir room.

In the last scene, it’s revealed that Will was the one who stole the letterman jacket and holds it as he breaks down in Emma’s (Jayma Mays) arms, just as the screen fades to black and we see Cory‘s name appear.

I like that they didn’t say how Finn died. We all know how Cory died, no way of dying is a good way but why would they want to remind people about how he died of a drug/alcohol overdose. We all remember all our favourite Finn moments. It must have been really hard to film that episode for everyone.

DJ SALINGER

The ONLY wish I had for this episode is that they sang the songs live on camera instead of lip-syncing the recorded versions. It would’ve been much more real and far more powerful. If they truly did the moments in one take as Ryan Murphy says they did, they should’ve sung it live.

That being said, I cried my effing eyes out.

http://olgakotok.tumblr.com Olga K

Ohh gosh, so hard to watch and to know it wasn’t act. I cried the crap out of me, and my eyes burned so bad. How good he was, and how much his friends loved him.

So heart-wamring seeing Mr.Shoe stealing the jacket and then crying he’s been so strong for all of them but at the end he lost his best buddy.
I feel so sorry but so blessed to be inspired by him as Finn Hudson.

Thank you Cory may you find peace now.

Rebecca g

I started crying within the first 90 seconds of “Seasons of Love” and I did not stop until the the fox news came on afterward. Probably the most powerful thing I have ever witnessed on a T.V. show. The emotion was so real and powerful and I felt it to the depths of my soul. Finn was an inspiration to me and I hope he will continue to inspire others through past episodes. Thank You for showing me how high school worked and how to accept others for who they are and not what crowd they happen to be in. Rest in Peace Cory and Finn <3

Lorna

As the mother of a 17 year old who died before he completed high school, I thought the writers did an incredible job of bringing all of those pieces together – family, friends, and teachers. I saw how my son’s friends felt after losing an integral part of their group, and as a parent, I saw how his mother struggled with losing her child mirrored my own struggles.

If you have never experienced this degree of loss, you have no idea the impact it has on those around you until it happens to you. The scenes with school administration was similar to our experience – they didn’t know how to deal with the loss, and tried to dismiss it. It was Dave’s friends, just like in the episode, who set them straight.

I have nothing but admiration at the way this untimely death was handled. I cried from beginning to end, probably more for my own loss, but mostly because the emotions were very similar. I applaud the Glee writers for putting together a moving tribute that tied all the pieces together.

As for those who complained that for 3 weeks nothing was mentioned, the series is not supposed to be a week to week progression, but rather a progression over the course of a year. I found nothing wrong in leaving it as it was written.

abby

I personally really liked this episode. i thought it was raw and very real. Other people are bashing it, but i thought it was beautiful

daniela

it was a good episode but they should of showed more of finn aka cory when puck was singing the should of had a hologram of him smiling and laughing

Thalia

First off I am not a Hater ,I really liked the show but the part I didn’t like, there was NO PICTURES OF FINN anywhere throughout the show, not at the begining or on top of Cory’s Name, also it was badly done. IT was boring.

Stephanie

Anyone who has experienced a loss feels these emotions ten times over while watching this. There may have been flaws, but as I watch it again now I realize something. It is perfect in a sense it reflects reality, there are always things we wish we could do differently or change but we don’t always get that chance. We can’t make things perfect, especially death…it’s messy, unpredictable, and crushing. It happened, they shared moments with us that some people would never dream of making public. I could never do what that cast did…so I find perfection in their bravery.
Whether we knew him as Cory or Finn, he will be missed as both forever.